All posts tagged: GMAT Prep Strategy

In the two previous posts we discussed two of the three argument types around which Strengthen-Weaken question of GMAT Critical Reasoning are posed — Plan of Action and X causes Y .The third type is also X causes Y but an argument built on Correlation-Causation and hence it is better to classify it as the Correlation-Causation type. Advertisements

In the previous post on the Strengthen-Weaken question type, we discussed that there were three argument types around which strengthen-weaken type of questions are posed Plan of Action (PoA) X causes Y Correlation-Causation We discussed the PoA type of argument in that post, in this one we will look at the second type – X causes Y.

The GMAT Official Guide is probably one of the most important components of any GMAT Prep. But more often than not test-takers do not really use it in a way that will maximize their learning and take them to their dream score.

When it comes to preparing for the GMAT there is a voluminous amount of prep material available. Sometimes the material is so overwhelming that it becomes tough to pick and choose material to suit different parts of your GMAT Prep. To make life simple let us take up this topic in alignment with the structure I suggested for your GMAT Prep in this post. After you take the OG Diagnostic test to identify you learning needs, the three distinct phases of your GMAT Prep are Prep, Practice & Testing As someone who has prepared for and taken the GMAT myself, I can vouch that there is no prep material from any one brand that is best for all three stages.

As mentioned in this post, the first step of your GMAT Prep begins with taking a Diagnostic Test. This need not be a computer adaptive test, the paper-based Diagnostic Test on the OG will suffice. A few rules that need to be followed while taking the test: • Take the test when you are fresh so that you can get the most accurate measure of your competence; you should not have anything other than your own ability to attribute a sub-par performance to. • The test can be taken either as two sections – Quant and Verbal with any length of break in between (even a day or two) – or as five question-types (PS, DS, RC, CR & SC). • Do not break the test either in the middle of a section or in the middle of a question-type. Your performance across five categories will be categorized as shown in the table below. Before we approximate this performance to a score on the 800-scale we have to take a few things into consideration that …

A goal without a plan is just a wish – Antoine de Saint-Exupery If there is one thing that is absolutely essential to successfully prepare your way to a great GMAT score it is a structured GMAT Study Plan that is executed perfectly. It is tough to make a one-size-fits-all study plan for those who want to prepare on their own. Instead we will take up each of the elements of your preparation and discuss those in detail. What you should not do Given that the GMAT is predictable and there is a seemingly huge quantity of actual GMAT questions to practice along two official free tests the usual pattern that test-takers follow unfolds as follows. Take a mock test without any preparation – some test-takers use the first test from the GMAT Prep Software, others use a free test from a reputable source such as Kaplan, some others just take any random GMAT Mock that they can find. Firstly, no test from any player in the market actually simulates the GMAT. The failure occurs …